Ted Grant

Transport Bill—Workers Must Demand Control

The Tories
are conducting a tremendous campaign against the Bill for the nationalisation
of transport. Despite lavish compensation, and the fact that the
nationalisation will assist British capitalism’s competitive struggle, the
Tories and the transport shareholders, are fighting to preserve their sacred rights
of private property.

The
nationalisation of transport constitutes a progressive step in placing all
national transport under one single control. It will eliminate part of the
chaos which is the legacy of “free enterprise.” But the workers must have no illusions
that it will be run in their interests.

Many
capitalist states own the railways. For instance, in South Africa and Germany
railways were state owned. In no case did this make any fundamental difference
to the conditions of the workers employed. In the same way as the
nationalisation of the Post Office in this country has meant neither improved
conditions for the post office workers, nor any advantage to the working class
as a whole. Instead of individual ownership, the capitalist class as a whole will
own the railways and other means of transport.

Why we oppose
compensation

Having drawn
enormous profits on their original outlay for many years, the capital having
been paid over and over again, the shareholders are to receive compensation
based on the average price of railway securities on November the 1st,
4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th,
1946. Or if it is higher, the average from February to July 1946. The stock is
to be freely negotiable. The cost will be of £1,019.7 millions, according to
the estimates of the Financial Times. The nominal value is £1,142
millions.

And this
outlay is for railways alone. Taking into consideration that the first charge
on the nationalised industry will be to pay the interest to the stockholders;
that large sums will have to be spent to modernise the industry; and that there
will be constant pressure to guarantee cheap freight charges, the workers
cannot expect to see any real change. The amount which will have to be paid out
annually before any other charges are taken into consideration will be £254
millions every year.

How the
industry will be run

Transport
will be run on similar lines to the mining industry with its capitalist Coal
Board. A Transport Commission is to be established composed of a Chairman and
four members, who will be appointed by the Minister. The overall supervision
will be in the hands of this Board.

Also, four
Transport Executives for the Railways, Docks and Inland Waterways, Road
Transport, and London Passenger Transport will be appointed to deal with these
sections.

The Railways
will be run strictly as a “business enterprise”, that is, strictly on
capitalist lines and with the powers in the hands of the management.

The first
charge of the Board will not be the granting of improved conditions for the workers,
but to ensure the compensation to the shareholders and that the industry is
efficiently run in the interests of the capitalist economy of the country.

The example
of the Post Office workers, where discipline is on the same lines as any
capitalist firm, and where the lower strata are among the worst paid in
Britain, is proof of this.

Workers need
their own Board

In order to
defend their interests, the Railway workers would need a Board, elected and
controlled by the workers in the industry.

Every railway
worker knows the inefficiency and bureaucratic way in which the railways are
run. Committees of workers elected on the job, can run the industry far more
efficiently and eliminate waste and mismanagement far more effectively.

The task of
the workers is to demand that control is in their own hands. Not state
capitalism, but nationalisation without compensation under workers’ control.